On April 27, 2009, the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced the commencement of the Broker Self-Assessment (BSA) Outreach Pilot (BSA Pilot) in a general notice published in the Federal Register. Modeled after the Importer Self Assessment (ISA) Program, the BSA Pilot is a voluntary program that CBP intends to be a partnership between itself and participating customs brokers. CBP states that the primary goal of the program is to facilitate a higher level of broker compliance with CBP laws and regulations. CBP states that:

[T]he BSA Pilot will allow for customs brokers to ascertain voluntarily with CBP how well they comply with their broker requirements, provide recognition and support to participating brokers, and facilitate legitimate trade so that CBP can focus on higher-risk trade enforcement issues. Under this program test, participating customs brokers will update and improve internal controls, perform periodic testing of these internal controls, and disclose to CBP deficiencies discovered through the testing. Any licensed customs broker who is a member of the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) and who meets the other eligibility requirements of the pilot, may apply to participate. After closure of the application period and review of the applications received, CBP will select a limited number of customs brokers to participate in the BSA Pilot.

The Federal Register notice provides details on the application process and the requirements for participation in the BSA Pilot.